BCELP Tests Innovative Renewable Energy Source﻿

On July, 29th the installation of the two Windstream Technologies, Inc. 3‐P Solar Mills was completed. The Solar Mills are a combination of solar panels and vertical axis wind turbines.These modules were installed on an existing structure at the wastewater retention basin and over the past month of wind and solar generation have reduced the retention basins bill by 150 kWh which equates to approximately $10. While this is not a significant dollar amount for a large industrial user, the potential of additional savings exist for small commercial or residential usage areas. This project was implemented to test the viability of combined microwind and solar in Bay City and was funded by the Energy Optimization Pilot program. Continuous monitoring of the microwind and solar array’s generation through an AMI meter will allow utility staff to determine the output and reliability of this renewable alternative.